Berlin is an incredible city seeped in dramatic history. It is impossible not to be deeply moved by its past and the numerous markers of rememberence. I keep flashing back to the movie, The Lives of Others. If you haven't seen it, you should. It is one of the most haunting movies I have ever seen. Please go rent it.

remenant of the Berlin Wall

One of the first sites I visited was Neue Wache, a memorial for all victims of the war, the modern Pieta by one of my very favorite artists, Kathe Kollwitz (more on her work later). It is a sober and beautiful work.

On a walking tour I passed markers for those whose lives were lost trying to cross the river to freedom.

and the Holocaust Memorial consisting of 2711 sarcophagi-like columns rising up in somber silence from undulating ground.

Holocaust Tower from the Jewish Museum

To the left of the Brandenburg Gate there is a Room of Silence, a much welcomed space. It's purpose is to "provide an opportunity for everyone, independent of backround, color ideology, religion and physical condition to enter and remain in silence for a while ...and an invitation to tolerence, a brotherhood of man embracing all nationalites and ideologies, a continuous reminder against violence and xenophobia, a small step toward peace and spirituality.

The weaving on the wall was created by Hungarian aritst Ritta Hager and was the perfect object to contemplateon while searching for the light in the darkness.